Getting Results: Solutions for Jordan Lane, California St.

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) – It was just two weeks ago that WHNT News 19 visited a stretch of Jordan Lane in Huntsville about a half mile north of University Drive. There was a dip across all four lanes of the road, that apparently followed the track of a drain pipe. “A dip like that in the road, it will harm your load, it will harm your equipment. It will even hurt your back,” said truck driver Miguel Mendez.

Big heavy trucks would literally bounce, and leave the roads surface when they hit the dip. “The driver stands the risk of losing control of the vehicle,” said trucker Bobby Sawada. It’s important to note that Jordan Lane is busy, and a trucker losing control could be a disaster.

The situation was bad enough for us to take action and discuss the situation with the Alabama Department of Transportation Regional Engineer. ALDOT quickly responded to our concerns, and filled in the dip.

“I think it’s a good thing ya’ll got it fixed,” says trucker Robby Bowman. Robby also said this about what he’ll do the next time he sees a road problem. “Call Channel 19 News!

A few miles away another problem prompted a viewer to call WHNT News 19. On California Street at Hermitage Avenue, a dip in the asphalt caused water to puddle during rain storms. The puddle large enough, and deep enough to affect drivers across two lanes of traffic.

“I think it’s definitely a safety hazard,” said driver Walter Williams. The safety problem actually two problems. One, drivers would hit the puddle and their vehicle would be jerked to the side. ” The second problem, drivers would swerve to avoid hitting the puddle, and often they would swerve in front of other drivers. “I have been fearful myself of hitting it, and have my car thrown off-line,” said driver Jimmy Murphree.

The second problem was drivers swerving to avoid the puddle. Unfortunately the effort to avoid hitting the puddle would cause them to swerve in front of other drivers. “I think it’s definitely dangerous,” said Walter Williams. We did too, and that’s why we took action and brought the situation to the attention of Huntsville traffic officials. They responded by first doing a survey of the area, and then by fixing it.

There’s new guttering and asphalt at the problem area. Water flow has been directed to a nearby drain with the idea of avoiding a puddle forming. It’s exactly the result we were looking for.

“This is the second time that I have spotted something and called you. The first time, it got immediately fixed, a dangerous area where cars were running into curbs, and now this one. I’m glad you’re here for us,” says Jimmy Murphree.

We’re glad to be here, and definitely happy to take action and get results that make drivers safer. After all, this is our community too, and making it better is a job we love.